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Doran
Doran, often referred to as Doran the Dragonlover by Deltorans and Dragonfriend by dragons, was a famous explorer of Deltora. Considered a madman during his time travelling, it was widly believed that he had perished. However, to his horror, as Lief discovered, he had been enslaved by the Shadow Lord, forced to be the guardian of the creature he had been attempting to destory. History Early life Doran was born around the late reign of King Brandon and the early reign of Brandon's son King Lucan. He roamed the land far and wide, gaining the respect of many people, both Deltorans and foreigners alike, despite his reputation as being unkempt, ill-mannered and blunt. He was said to be a man "of the land" so much that he earned the respect and, eventually, friendship of all seven tribes of dragons (something unheard of as dragons kept very much to themselves and their own respective tribes conversing only rarely with any human). Dragons were looked upon with fear, and too often hatred, due to a general lack of knowledge and understanding. However Doran was welcome among each tribe as family earning the name "Dragonfriend". Expedition Taking clues from a number of "Tenna Birdsong Tales", such as The Tale of the Pirran Pipe, The Seven Goblins and The Girl with the Golden Hair, Doran planned an expedition to the Os-Mine Hills in the north of the Topaz Territory originally looking for a dragon's den and upon finding it, he discovered in its depths a tunnel leading to the lands of the banished and fabled Pirrans. He visited them several times, told them of Deltora and the Shadow Lord and brought at least one of the three groups of Pirran's fire. The Pirrans possessed strong magic and could magically transport people through solid earth to the surface world and that is how Doran returned from their lands. They would row out in their boats and send Doran to the land above, usually near the River Tor in the Territory of the Emerald. Doran kept his knowledge of the Pirran underworld secret and in return they gave him a Soul Stone, a magical stone that let him remember everything despite the power of the underworld seas to forget. By touching a soul stone, you can see all your memories stored in it, inside your mind, and that was what happened for King Lief the he touched Doran's Soul Stone, his mind was filled with pictures and images, which was memories of Doran. The pictures were of wild and beautiful places. Thousand pictures of faces. The secret of the underworld. And his memories of flying with dragons. Lief saw this as he picked the stone up and put it in Doran's grave at the harsh windy rock that pointed towards the Isle of the Dead, where the Sister of the West had been destroyed. It was a bit far away. The grave only contained Doran's silver bottle and the soul stone. Doran was wise, clever and strong, both in will and body. In his younger years he was a great adventurer and explored the land in depth. Doran was very much aware of the danger that the seven Ak-Baba posed, particularly to the dragons. They were often seen hunting solitary dragons, attacking in a pack and retreating when the odds were unfavourable. Whilst some Deltorans welcomed the slaughter of the dragons, Doran understood that the dragons were connected to the land and tribes and the land would suffer greatly if the dragons were lost. When the land was young, before the rise of Adin, the land was called "Land of Dragons" due to the many hundreds of dragons in each territory. However with the constant Ak-Baba attacks, each tribe was whittled away to one last dragon of each tribe. Doran secretly convinced the last seven dragons to sleep until the skies were safe again, so as-to preserve the noble race of dragons and deceive The Enemy into thinking the dragons were truly gone. Doran was practiced in the use of codes and employed their use in a book which King Lucan commissioned to be written for his son (which was eventually published widely to both Deltorans and foreigners alike). Knowing that Prince Gareth, the heir to the throne of Deltora in Doran's time, was to receive the original copy of his book, Doran spoke to Gareth directly, in a way he believed Gareth would understand. Throughout his book, Secrets of Deltora, Doran hid a secret letter for Prince Gareth, made up from secret sentences hidden in every chapter. However, the precious book on which Doran had pinned all his hopes was locked away in a display case, and Prince Gareth, for whom it was intended, probably never even knew it existed. He certainly never read it. It seems that the Chief Advisor, Drumm (who was secretly a servant of the Shadow Lord), simply told the King and the court that a book illuminated by Withick was too valuable to be handled - especially by a boy as young as Gareth, who was only fifteen years old at the time. Drumm didn't want Gareth to read the many controversial remarks that Doran could not resist including in his text - especially his passionate defense of dragons, the protectors of the land. Doran never knew that his book had been suppressed. After delivering it, he resumed his travels, determined to carry out his plan to save Deltora's last seven dragons. Rumors that he was losing his mind were already circulating in the palace at this time, so his warnings before leaving were ignored. He learned too much and spoke too much, and within a year he had disappeared, a victim of the Shadow Lord's evil. There was no one left to alert Prince Gareth to what Doran had been trying to tell him. Doran's plan that Prince Gareth would wake the sleeping dragons failed. More time had to pass before the dragons awoke than he would have ever dreamed. But in the end a young king did put on the Belt of Deltora, banish the Ak-Baba and wake Deltora's sleeping protectors. Today dragons once again ride the wind over Deltoran skies. Doran's final entry, recorded in the fifth volume of the Deltoran Annals reads: "This is the explorer Doran, writing in haste. I returned yesterday from my journey to seek the remaining dragons. In grief, I tell you that not one still flies Deltoran skies. And there is even more dreadful news. I now know why the Enemy wanted the Dragons destroyed. He had a plan that the Dragons would not have tolerated. The four sisters. In the far-flung corners of the land I heard whispers of them. If what I heard is true, the sisters of the north and east are already in place. The south, and the west, will surely be next, and I can guess where, if the rumours of the locations of the others are to be believed. Whoever reads my words, show them to the King if you can. The King, wearing the Belt of Deltora, is Deltora's only salvation now. No-one will listen to me. They think I am mad. I hurried to Del without pausing to eat, wash or sleep. To these palace fools, with their soft hands and painted faces, I look like a wildman. I must set out once more, to seek proof of what I say. Another long journey . . . perhaps my last, for I fear the Enemy is aware of me. If I do not return, seek me where the Four Sisters lurk . . ." Doran drew a map on the page opposite his words, to show where he thought the Four Sisters lurked, and that page was torn out. No doubt very soon after he wrote it. He set out to find the Four Sisters of whom he speaks. But he never returned, and no-one knew where to look for him. He was never seen again. On the night when King Lief destroyed the Enemy's crystal, it revealed a conversation between the Shadow Lord and his servant Drumm. The Shadow Lord spoke with Drumm regarding his plans to capture and enslave Deltora and his backup plan to use the Four Sisters as a last resort. Drumm worried that if a King discovered the Sisters he would set out to destroy them using the map Doran drew - which had been torn out of the Annals, torn into four pieces and hidden but NOT destroyed. The Shadow Lord dared such a King to try destroy them " I dare him to try, and go more quickly to his death". The Shadow Lord had also said "The upstart has the fate he deserves." indicating the horrific and ironic fate the Enemy had chosen for Doran. Doran was condemned to guard the Sister of the West for all eternity (even though he had sought to destroy it). Death When Lief arrived at the Isle of the Dead with the Amethyst Dragon Veritas, Doran asked the fate of the Diamond Dragon, knowing that he was in the Diamond territory. Learning of her death he was greatly distressed but was joyful once more at seeing the newly-hatched diamond dragon they had found. He asked for Veritas to end his "Living-death" and to destroy the Sister that was in him. Veritas "took his breath, as he wished" and destroyed the Sister of the West. Legacy The grave of Doran the Dragonlover contained only his silver flask and a strange, gleaming many-coloured stone. These ancient objects were all that remained of Deltora's greatest explorer. The grave was in as wild a place as Doran could have wished, looking over the windswept rock that pointed to the Isle of the Dead, where the Sister of the West had been destroyed. After careful thought, Veritas had scratched the lettering upon the grave marker: The many coloured stone was Doran's Soul Stone, gifted to him by the Pirrans, which was filled with the great explorer's memories - Wild and beautiful places. Thousands of faces. The secret seas "of the underworld. Flying with dragons . . . and through it all ran Doran's voice whispering the true names of the last seven dragons. Veritas, Hopian, Forta, Fortuna, Fidelis, Honora and ''Joyeu. But whispered as: "Veritas hopian forta fortuna fidelis honora joyeu... ".'' Physical appearance In Doran's old age, before his death, Doran was old with long white hair and grey eyes. His apperance when young is not known. Personality Doran loved dragons, and studied them too. He knew a lot about them, their culture, life, biology and a lot more that is unknown. During his travels, he wrote in the his journal, the Deltora Annals, for he could not trust the Del librarians to do it, for they introduced errors by making his words too poilite and his map lines too neat. Abilities Doran has the ability to Relationships Dragons Doran had a very strong connection to the dragons and his relationship with them was very strong. Doran displayed a deep level of respect for them and they, too, trusted him. Appearances ''Dragons of Deltora'' *Carvern of The Fear ''Secrets of Deltora'' Trivia *Doran's notes and final adventures are the driving force behind the Dragons of Deltora series. *Doran's journal has been published by Emily Rodda in Secrets of Deltora. References Category:Characters Category:Minor Characters Category:Males Category:Deltorans Category:Post-Adin Deltorans Category:Deceased